


Someone to Watch Over

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: (and leitner), (sasha), Canonical Character Death, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Season 1, Season 2, Tim Stoker sees Jon and is like 'is anybody gonna watch out for him?', and then does it himself, elias is a creep, friendship is a good look on these idiots, non-consensual break up, starts pre-show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-23 03:33:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23105029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: The first time Tim saw the new researcher, he couldn’t stop himself from voicing his thoughts, unflattering though they were. “Buddy, you look like shit.”It was the start of a beautiful friendship.
Relationships: Jonathan Sims & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Sasha James & Tim Stoker
Comments: 41
Kudos: 493





	Someone to Watch Over

The first time Tim saw the new researcher, he couldn’t stop himself from voicing his thoughts, unflattering though they were. “Buddy, you look like shit.” Honestly, it was only the guy’s first day, so why the hell did he look like he hadn’t slept properly in years? 

New guy slowly looked up at Tim, like it took a lot of physical effort just to raise his head, and stared through his glasses that looked like they belonged to an old man (though between the glasses and the streaks of gray hair, it was hard to believe that this guy was _young_ ). “What?”

Even with just a single word, Tim could already start to guess what kind of person the new guy was. He sounded like the types of people that intentionally made themselves sound more posh, as if they thought that that would make them any more likable. Tim frowned in disappointment. He’d been hoping for a new ally against the tyrant that ran their department- Reia- but it seemed like that evil woman had just hired some random hobo with a posh voice. He was probably spying on all of the other researchers to report back to Reia when someone fell behind in their work. That seemed like the type of thing she would hire someone to do.

Before Tim could even begin to voice any of that, though, the new guy had already gone back to whatever ancient looking book he was looking through. In fact, he seemed to be so intently engrossed in the book that it seemed a bit impossible to think that he was somehow also keeping an eye on his coworkers, and then Tim felt foolish for jumping to the conclusion of corporate stooge so quickly. 

After waiting a few seconds in case the new guy suddenly decided he wanted to launch into a long debate about the ethics of plant cloning (it just seemed like something this kind of guy would want to talk about, is all), Tim decided to just cut his losses and leave before his dignity took a hit. 

Tim headed to Sasha’s desk instead (which had a fairly large stack of Tim’s work on it because of the frequency in which he just pulled his chair over so that they could sit together and chat while they worked). He leaned up against the side of the desk, careful not to knock anything over. “Have you met the new guy?”

The grimace that Sasha wasn’t able to hide immediately seemed like enough of an answer. “He’s a bit… different. I mean, you had to know coming in that a place like this would take all sorts, right? But still, he does seem very…” she trailed off, and then shrugged, clearly not wanting to say anything bad about their new coworker. 

“Does he have a name?”

Sasha blinked once, and then frowned. “Well, if the vague grunting he gave in response to me introducing myself is anything to go by, his name is Jonathan Sims.”

Tim snorted. “A pretentious name for a-”

Sasha held her hand up before Tim could spit out any of the particularly clever insults that he’d been saving up. “We don’t know anything about him,” she reminded Tim. “For all we know, he’s a very nice man that just gets very invested in his work. Or maybe he’s nervous to be seen slacking off on his first day. We should at least give the guy a chance.”

Tim rolled his eyes but didn’t bother to respond, since they both knew that Sasha was right. He went over to his desk and grabbed the chair to wheel over to Sasha’s desk. “I’ll give the guy a chance, but if he does anything weird, I will hold it against him for the rest of eternity.”

All that got him in response was Sasha shaking her head slightly, and then she looked down so that she could focus on her work. Tim let her get away with it, since he really needed to get going with his own work as well. He’d started to fall behind over the past week or so, since he’d met a particularly roguish young librarian that had taken up most of his time and thoughts.

In fact, Tim managed to get so eager to catch up on his work that he didn’t even spare the new guy a second thought for the rest of the day. At least not until everyone else had gone home.

Like the good, upstanding employee that he was, Tim had figured he could just stay late for the next couple of days until he had taken care of everything, and that would be that. What he didn’t expect was to see Jonathan Sims staying late as well, even though there was no way he could already be falling behind. It was only the guy’s first day! 

Snippets of Sasha’s words came back to him, and Tim decided that he was going to try and be a welcoming, friendly face to the new guy. So he got up, stretched until he’d heard satisfying cracking noises from all of his joints, and then walked over to the new guy’s desk. 

After a few seconds passed without any acknowledgement, Tim realized that the new guy was deeply engrossed in the book he was reading. So Tim cleared his throat, but that didn’t seem to get the guy’s attention. Tim narrowed his eyes slightly, and then reached down to touch the guy’s shoulder.

Jonathan Sims jerked away from the touch so fast that it was hard to believe he hadn’t been aware of Tim’s presence next to him. He looked up at Tim, squinting in confusion. “What do you want?”

Tim took a deep breath, and reminded himself that he was trying to be friendly. “Jonathan, right? I’m Tim Stoker, my desk is over there. Look, I think that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot this morning, and I know that it’s entirely my fault for saying something dumb instead of just introducing myself to you like a normal human being. Anyways, to make it up to you, why don’t you let me buy you a drink?”

The look of suspicion on Sims’ face seemed entirely unwarranted, but Tim refused to stop smiling. “You want to buy me a drink?” he repeated, in a tone that implied he hoped that he’d just misheard.

Tim just nodded, and hoped that this painfully awkward interaction would be over soon. “Yup!”

After what felt like forever, the new guy finally muttered, “You can just call me Jon. And I don’t date coworkers.”

It took a few seconds for Tim to understand the non sequitur, because even if he had noticed that Jon was attractive in a nerdy kind of way, that didn’t mean Tim wanted to date him. Then he realized that he must have accidentally used one of his flirting tones, and he was quick to assure Jon, “Oh- oh, no, I meant drinks in a totally platonic, work friends kind of way.” One of Jon’s eyebrows shot up in a way that all-too-clearly expressed his disdain, so Tim hurried to add, “I don’t mean that in a ‘no homo’ way or anything, I’m totally fine with dudes dating dudes. I happen to be bi… not that you care.” He reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean it like a date,” he said firmly. “Look, it’s pretty late, and there’s no way you’re behind on your work already, and we don’t get paid overtime here anyways, so just say yes.” He knew that he sounded more commanding than he’d intended, but it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t even heard ten words out of the new guy yet, but somehow he’d already managed to get on Tim’s nerves.

Tim had to stop himself crying from relief when Jon stopped just staring at Tim, and actually answered. “Drinks… alright, I can do drinks. Just give me a minute to finish this.”

Tim waited impatiently while Jon folded over the corner of the page he was on- which was actually surprising, since Jon looked like the kind of guy who would yell at people for doing that. Then Jon tidied everything on his desk, and at that point it felt more like a strategy to delay than an actual necessity. When Jon stood up and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, Tim was tempted to just grab him by the elbow and pull him out of the building before he could think of anything else he needed to do.

But maybe Jon actually sensed Tim’s impatience, because he gave Tim a sheepish look, and then let himself get led out of the Institute. The air outside was a nice crisp coolness that came after a misty day. Luckily it wasn’t actively raining, so Tim decided to save money by just walking to the nearby pub that many of the Institute employees liked to frequent.

It was surprisingly quiet inside, though maybe that was just because it was a Tuesday night. Tim led Jon over to a booth near the middle of the pub, and they sat down across from each other. They just stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, and then Tim hopped back up. “What’ll you have? First round’s on me.”

Jon sighed. “Whatever’s on tap is fine.” Tim gave a quick bob of his head, and then hurried over to the bar. He got their drinks fairly quickly after he gave the bartender a few charming grins, and then hurried back over to the table. He paused part way there, though, and just observed Jon.

For the first time all day, Jon actually looked like he was relaxed, or at least relaxed compared to how tense he’d been before. He was leaning back in his seat, and looking down at his phone, a soft smile on his face. Maybe Sasha was right, and Jon had just been nervous about his first day on the job.

Grateful to have discovered that Jon was actually human after all, and not just some kind of weird robot spy sent to make everyone in the office uncomfortable, Tim set their glasses down on the table, and gave Jon a more genuine smile. “So who are you talking to? Cute girl? Guy?”

Jon seemed startled by Tim’s reappearance, but then he went back to his relaxed pose as he locked his phone. “No, I don’t- I’m not… I was looking at pictures of my neighbor’s kittens.”

That immediately piqued Tim’s interest. “Ooh, can I see?” Maybe he shouldn’t have sounded so eager, in case Jon was just trying to give a cover story for something or other, but after a brief moment of hesitation, Jon acquiesced. He unlocked his phone, and then turned it around so that Tim could get a better look. “Do you mind if I turn up the brightness?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, that’s fine. I just like to leave on the dimmest setting to save battery, so I forget that other people aren’t used to that.” 

After he turned up the brightness, Tim grinned at the picture of a bunch of little orange kittens all lying on top of each other. “They’re so tiny!” 

The smile returned to Jon’s face as he nodded. “Yeah, they were just born last week. You can just keep swiping to the right, she’s sent me a bunch of pictures.”

Tim scrolled through the photos of the tiny kittens, letting out appropriately high pitched ‘awes’ and ‘oohs’ as he looked at them. The kitten pictures seemed endless, up until the moment they ended and Tim found himself looking at an entirely unrelated photo.

It showed Jon with his head turned slightly to the side, revealing hair braided intricately in swirls around his head, and there was a bashful smile on his face that was lit up by the perfect beam of sunlight streaming in from some unseen window. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he looked at something off to the side, and he was wearing a pale blue dress that just went down to his knees, a swirl of purple butterflies running up to the waist on just one side. 

Tim knew that the polite thing to do when one swiped too far on someone else’s phone would be to go back to the previous picture and then hand the phone back. Unfortunately, Tim was too nosey for his own good. “What’s this from?”

Jon leaned over to see what Tim was talking about, and instead of getting angry, he just rolled his eyes and slumped back in his seat, though his cheeks did grow slightly darker. “That’s from my cousin’s wedding. She’s a bit of a harpy sometimes, and she insisted that all of the ‘bridesmaids’ had to have matching outfits.” 

“Well you look nice in it,” Tim offered. “And I say that in a very platonic way.”

Jon snorted. “Thanks.” He took a sip of his beer, and then gave Tim a curious look. “So how long have you been working at the Institute?”

Tim was grateful that they weren’t going to just sit there in awkward silence until they finished their drinks, and he launched into some wild anecdote that was only partially true but completely impossible to prove either way, and Jon laughed and nodded along at all the right moments. When Tim was done, Jon tentatively offered up a story from when he was in a band in college, and Tim found it hilarious (though that might have been the alcohol talking, since he’d already had several drinks by that point). Overall, though, Tim decided that Jon wasn’t so bad, and was actually funny and kind once one got past the prickly exterior. 

,,,

It was never exactly pleasant to wake up with a massive hangover, but Tim was used to it after years of experience. He was also used to waking up with someone else in his bed. What he wasn’t used to was said someone else being fully dressed, along with Tim. They were both even still wearing their shoes, as far as he could tell.

It probably took longer than it should have for Tim to recognize the face of the man sleeping beside him. Right, Jon. They’d gone out to have a few drinks and a few laughs after work and… and then they’d taken a cab back to Tim’s flat and they’d both fallen asleep almost immediately. Alright, so it wasn’t the greatest start to a friendship, but it could have been a lot worse. Though Tim had the feeling that Jon wouldn’t care much for semantics since he’d still be doing the ‘walk of shame’ home even though they hadn’t had sex.

Tim reached over to wake Jon up, but then paused and decided to be nice. He got out of bed, dry swallowed some paracetamol, and then went to the kitchen to grab a glass of orange juice. He brought it back to the bedroom, along with a couple of pills, and then gently shook Jon by the shoulder.

Jon woke up fast, and then looked around in confusion. It wasn’t until his eyes landed on Tim that he seemed to remember the previous night, and then he let out a loud groan. “Great.” He snatched up the tablets without even checking them (and of course Tim wasn’t going to drug the guy, but seriously, they’d only known each other for a day, how could Jon be that trusting?) and tossed them back, along with the entire glass of juice. Then he made a face. “Ugh, I hate orange juice. And my mouth tastes like roadkill.”

“Do you eat roadkill a lot?”

Jon shoved Tim aside as he got to his feet. “I’m going to be late to work on my second day. I’m going to get fired, and-”

Tim flopped back down onto the bed. “You can shower here and borrow some clothes. It wouldn’t be perfect, but you wouldn’t get fired.”

He thought for sure that Jon would immediately refuse the offer, but maybe Tim should learn to just stop making assumptions about Jon, because the man just let out a defeated sigh, and then nodded. “That’d be great, thanks.” 

Since Tim was feeling generous, he let Jon shower first, while he rummaged around for something that wouldn’t look ridiculous on Jon. Tim was pretty sure he remembered measuring at some point last night, and he was about half a foot taller than Jon, and anyone with eyes could see that Tim had more bulk, thanks to his dedication to working out. He ended up finding a shirt that had shrunk down in the wash ages ago, and let Jon wear the same pants he’d worn the day before. 

By the time they were both ready to go, they had to rush out the door to make it in time for the start of the workday thanks to both of their phones being too dead for their alarms to go off. 

They chatted about light topics during the commute, and then they got to the Institute. As soon as they stepped inside, it was like Jon turned into an entirely different person, as his animated expression dropped, and his whole body stiffened up. He only responded to Tim’s questions with one word answers, and hurried to his desk as soon as the elevator doors slid open on their floor.

Tim watched the strange behavior in bemusement, and then made his way over to Sasha. “You’ll never guess what happened last night.”

Sasha raised one eyebrow, and it was hard to say whether she was being judgemental or not. “Let’s see… you and Jon are the last two people to show up and you arrive at the same time, and Christie said that you two were the last ones to leave last night, so…”

Tim quickly shook his head. “It’s not like that. We just went out for some drinks, and he acted like a mostly normal person, but now he’s back to being the same robot he was yesterday. Any thoughts?”

“Oh plenty,” Sasha told him, clearly ready to get started with the (well-deserved) ribbing. 

She didn’t get a chance to keep going, though, because suddenly Reia’s annoying voice was ringing out across the floor. “Good morning, everyone! I have an important announcement to make. Elias Bouchard, the wonderful head of this Institute, will be coming around today to check in on everyone. Don’t make me look bad, people. With any luck, this might finally be a year that a department other than the archives gets the most funding.” When everyone continued to stare at her, she clapped her hands together once. “Alright, everyone get back to work now!”

Tim and Sasha shared a look that said neither of them particularly cared about making Reia look good, though they could play nice if it meant all of the researchers potentially getting a raise. 

It was just a little while before most people left to take their lunch break that Mr. Bouchard stepped out of the elevator. Tim wondered if there was some kind of strategy there, to see how well everyone worked when they were hungry and cranky. 

Tim glanced over at Jon to see what he thought about all of this, and frowned at what he saw. Bouchard had moved slowly across the floor, giving a quick greeting to all of the researchers, but for some reason, he’d stopped at Jon’s desk. Now maybe he was just giving some kind of friendly ‘welcome to the work family’ speech or something, but Tim didn’t think that was the case. Even though Jon was still in robot mode, he looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Tim couldn’t deny that even from this distance, he could see the almost creepy way that Elias was looking at the newest employee. 

There were so many reasons that Tim shouldn’t get involved. He’d never been great at checking his attitude around people who had authority over him. He couldn’t risk losing this job when he still hadn’t found anything about Danny. He was actually comfy with his current job.

But nobody else was doing anything either, and Tim could not in good conscious leave someone to get harassed by their boss. So he stood up with enough force that it sent his chair rolling back a few feet, and then he sauntered over to Jon’s desk. “Hey, Jon, my pal! You must be so honored to meet the big man himself on just your second day. I hear that some people have to wait their entire lifetime and sacrifice a couple of virgins to get a meeting with him.” Then Tim gave Bouchard a shit-eating grin. “I’m just messing with you, Boss. I’m sure you’d give all of us a personalized welcome if you had the time, right?”

And Tim knew that coming over here had been the right thing to do, because he could see Jon’s shoulders slump down from relief, and he saw the very not-amused gleam in Bouchard’s eyes. “Of course. Mr. Stoker, is it?”

It was difficult not to tense up at the thought that Bouchard knew who he was even though they’d never met before and there were hundreds of people employed by the Magnus Institute. “Yup, that’s me.” Then he just stared at Bouchard, willing the man to walk away. Because Tim was willing to just stand there all day if he had to.

Bouchard didn’t seem willing to get involved in a standoff, though, because he just nodded his head once. “Well, it was nice meeting you.” He looked down at Jon, and smiled in a way that showed off too many teeth for it to seem authentic. “I suppose I’d best let you get back to work, Mr. Sims. I’m sure we will be seeing each other again.” Then he left to finish going around the floor.

Once Bouchard was out of earshot, Tim bent forward to look Jon in the eyes. “Are you alright? It seemed like he was…” then he trailed off, since he wasn’t sure what exactly Bouchard had wanted. In all his years of pub crawling, Tim had seen more than his fair share of creeps, and he knew the way that they looked at those they thought of as prey. Bouchard hadn’t been looking at Jon like that, like he wanted to sleep with him. Not that Tim wanted Bouchard to look at Jon like that, but at least that would have been something Tim could understand. 

Jon just nodded, though. “Yeah. Thanks for your assistance.” He spoke so stiffly that Tim had to resist the urge to make a joke about hearing creaking noises. “We should probably both return to our work now.”

Tim nodded in agreement, but then ended up sticking around to make small talk until he saw Bouchard get back onto the elevator. He’d seen the way Bouchard had kept casually looking over at Jon, subtly enough that nobody else seemed to notice it, and he hadn’t wanted to give the man the chance to come back over and bother Jon again. 

Once he was sure that they were in the clear, Tim looked down at Jon. “It’s about noon now. Want to take lunch with Sasha and me? We’re going to the little Thai place down the street.”

Jon opened his mouth like he wanted to say no, but then he just sighed and nodded. “Yeah, alright.” 

A few minutes later the three of them headed out, and Tim watched as Jon stayed stiff until they’d all sat down and started chatting, and then he finally started to relax. Tim let Sasha and Jon lead the conversation while he mostly observed. Clearly Jon was a lot more complicated than he’d seemed at first glance. And, based on the way he scarfed down his food, he wasn’t the greatest at taking care of himself. So it would be a win-win, wouldn’t it, if Tim looked out for Jon? He would get to solve a mystery in exchange for making sure that Jon didn’t keel over. That seemed like a pretty good deal to him. Not to mention that he actually enjoyed spending time with Jon, so that was a pretty nice perk as well.

,,,

When there was a new guy in the research department, Tim made his way over to introduce himself. “Hey there, I’m Tim Stoker.”

The new guy looked up from the cup of tea he’d been making in the break room. “Oh- hello. I’m Martin Blackwood.” He held his arm out and they shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Well, it’s not everyday we get new people around here. Pretty much every other department is way more popular than this one. We haven’t gotten any fresh meat in over a year.”

Martin nodded. “Yeah, I remember that was mentioned at my interview.”

They exchanged small talk for a couple of minutes, and then they both wandered back to their desks. From what Tim had seen so far, Martin was very friendly, and had stopped to chat with everyone he’d come across so far. He seemed like he’d be better off working at the front desk or as one of the people who assisted visitors, but if the man liked research, who was Tim to tell him to do something else? 

Even though Martin seemed very social, after a few weeks Tim realized that Martin was struggling to actually connect with any of his colleagues. He seemed to pack his lunch and just eat it at his desk during the day, which was frankly just sad. And, well, since Tim was apparently running a full time adoption service anyways, he decided that it wouldn’t hurt to pick up another stray. 

So he sidled up to Martin’s desk that Friday morning, and offered up one of his winning smiles. “Good morning. How would you like to take lunch with me, Sasha, and Jon today?”

Martin’s eyes widened. “Oh, uh, you don’t have to- I mean I’m fine here.”

Tim shrugged. “You are fine,” Tim agreed with just a little leer. Maybe it was just part of the ritual that he needed to exchange a small flirtation with new coworkers. He quickly shifted back to the friendly smile, though, not wanting to creep Martin out. “But seriously, you seem like a cool guy, and we’d all love to get to know you better, since we’re all working together for the foreseeable future anyways.”

And just like Tim knew would happen, Martin gave in. “Alright. Just let me know when you guys want to head out.”

“Great!” Tim gave Martin a friendly slap on the back, and then went back to his desk, whistling loudly.

,,,

As it turned out, Martin really was a cool guy, and even though he was a bit awkward and shy, he was able to keep up with the conversation, and seemed to enjoy himself. It wasn’t until they were walking back to the Institute, though, that Tim’s keen eye spotted something quite fascinating.

He grabbed Sasha’s arm and tugged her back so that they were walking a little ways behind Jon and Martin. Sasha gave him an annoyed look, but Tim just shushed her and then nodded towards the two men in front of them. 

They watched as Jon and Martin kept chatting softly, and they kept looking at each other as they walked. Tim would even classify the interaction as downright adorable, even if he had fallen too far behind to properly hear the two. “Are they-?”

Tim grinned at Sasha, and then clapped his hands together. “There are no rules against fraternization in the Institute. Trust me, I’ve checked. So now I believe that it is time for us to help make a match.”

Sasha bit her lip. “I don’t know, this seems like it could end really badly…”

Tim shook his head. “Nonsense! Have I ever led you astray before?” Sasha just gave him a Look, and Tim shrugged. “I meant, have I ever led you astray in this very spot?”

Sasha sighed and shook her head, which was as good as a victory. “If either of them get hurt, I’m holding you responsible.” But the corners of her mouth were curling up, and Tim could tell that she wanted in. Oh, he couldn’t wait to prove that he was an expert matchmaker.

,,,

As the weeks passed, and Tim kept manufacturing more and more ridiculous reasons for Jon and Martin to spend time together, he felt the satisfaction of a job well done. Clearly they were perfect for each other, and it was only a matter of time before they officially started dating and macking all over each other in the office. Tim couldn’t wait.

But then more weeks passed, and even though Jon and Martin spent a lot of time together, and seemed to really enjoy doing so, nothing else happened. Then more weeks passed, then several months, and Tim’s well of ideas started to run dry. “Why isn’t this working?” he vented to Sasha.

She just shrugged. “Maybe they just aren’t romantically interested in each other. They seem to be good friends, so why can’t you just leave it at that?”

There was too much logic in Sasha’s words, and Tim was determined not to give up. “Because I know that they’re perfect for each other,” Tim insisted. “I think that they like each other, but they’re both just too shy and awkward to actually admit to it. At this rate, they’re going to keep dancing around each other until we’re all in the retirement home.”

Sasha tilted her head. “You think we’re all going to go to the same retirement home?”

“That’s not the point, Sasha, stay on topic! We need to figure out how to get those idiots to confess their feelings!”

Sasha just shook her head, though. “I think we should just leave them be, Tim.”

When several more months passed, Tim started to think that maybe Sasha was right. When all four of them hung out, there was nothing but friendship vibes between all of them. But then again, when Tim witnessed just Jon and Martin together, he swore that there was a greater tension between them. He honestly cared about both of them a lot, so the idea of setting them up to both be happy together seemed so perfect. The only real question was how to get that done. Or maybe he really should listen to Sasha for once, and just give up. 

,,,

Tim was lounging around in his flat, a half-empty bottle of whiskey in front of him as he scrolled through every text Danny had ever sent him. It was Danny’s birthday today, and no matter how much time passed, it never got easier. If only he had some closure. If he could just understand what had happened-

He was pulled out of his depressing thoughts by knocking on the front door. Tim went to answer it, not caring that he was just wearing his sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt that was more hole than cloth. 

Tim blinked in confusion when he saw Martin standing there. “Martin? What-?”

Martin had looked excited at first, but once he took in how awful Tim had to look, his happiness shifted to concern. “Tim? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Tim muttered. The last thing he ever wanted to do was talk about why he had decided to get a job at the Institute. “What are you doing here, Martin?” He knew that he sounded dismissive and mean, but he couldn’t find it within himself to really care at the moment.

Unfortunately, Martin didn’t seem to be scared off by Tim’s tone. “I came by to tell you some good news that I know you’ve been waiting for for a while, but clearly you’re not okay right now, so that seems a little more important.”

Since it was apparent that he was going to be able to get Martin to leave him alone, Tim let out a heavy whiskey-scented sigh. “What the hell, maybe your good news will cheer me up.” He turned around to go back into his flat, and left the door open for Martin to follow him. He dropped back down onto the couch, and then tipped his head back to look up at the ceiling. “So what’s the news?”

Martin gently closed the door behind him, and then stood awkwardly in front of the couch. He’d only been here a few times before, and always seemed to have trouble getting comfortable in other peoples’ homes. “I- I just wanted to tell you that Jon and I are going on a date. This Saturday. I know you’ve been not-so-subtly hinting for a while now that you think we should try dating, but it just never seemed like- well anyways. This morning I ended up getting to the Institute about the same time as Jon, but he was about to cross the street, and he would’ve gotten hit by a speeding car if he hadn’t jumped out of the way in time. And it just got me thinking that anything could happen at any time, you know, and that it’s stupid to be scared of being vulnerable when there are a lot worse things to be scared of, so- so as soon as he got to my side of the street I just asked him, and he said yes.”

Even though Tim didn’t want to feel anything less than utterly miserable, he found that he did actually enjoy hearing this news. Not that Jon had nearly gotten hit by a car, obviously (though he did wonder why Jon hadn’t thought to mention that this morning), but that Jon and Martin were actually going to give it a try together. “That’s… that’s great, Martin. I’m really happy for you.” And he found that he really was. 

Martin was kind enough to not try to ask again about what was wrong, but he insisted on staying over for a while longer. It should have been irritating, but it gave Tim a warm feeling in his stomach. Maybe when he ‘took in the strays’, as he liked to call it, they’d taken him in too.

,,,

Once Jon and Martin started dating, there was no obvious signs at work. The two of them didn’t do any PDAs at work at all, and even outside of work they stuck to walking with their shoulders touching and occasionally holding hands. But to the people that knew them, it was insanely obvious that something had changed, because all of the tension that had built up between them was suddenly gone. 

The two of them were both still awkward and nerdy and Tim would be the first to admit that he didn’t really understand how their relationship worked, but they were clearly both happy, and he was happy for them. Even more importantly, though, had been Sasha reluctantly admitting that maybe Tim had been right afterall. He hadn’t let her live that one down for weeks.

,,,

Time seemed to fly by, and before Tim knew it, he was helping Martin make plans for his second anniversary of dating Jon, which was coming up in just a couple of weeks. He knew that Jon had already asked Sasha to help him with his own plans for their anniversary. Between the four of them, it was surely going to be a very special night for the happy couple.

While Tim sketched his idea for a massive cardboard cutout of a cat (even though Martin had already insisted that he couldn’t get Jon a pet for a present. Jon did the bare minimum taking care of himself, let alone an animal), Martin’s phone went off, and he got that sappy look that always appeared when Jon was involved.

Martin answered the call, and held the phone up to his ear. “Hey, how’s it… Oh?” He glanced down at his watch, and Tim quickly looked back at his sketch, trying (and failing) to pretend like he wasn’t listening in. “Yeah, how about in an hour? Alright, yeah. I’ll see you then. I love you.” He hung up, and gave Tim an apologetic look. “Jon needs to talk to me about something, so I should get going. Can we keep working on this tomorrow?” His eyes flicked down to the paper in front of Tim. “And didn’t I already veto the cat idea?”  
Tim just grinned and shrugged. “Go have fun on your date. And of course we’ll keep working on this tomorrow. Wouldn’t want anything to be less than perfect for your precious Jon, right?”

Even after two years, it was so easy, and fun, to rile Martin up. Jon was usually more of a challenge, though that was mostly just because he was better at hiding his feelings. 

Tim waved Martin off, and then returned to his drawing. Sometimes being a witness to Martin and Jon’s relationship was enough to make a guy wish for something like that of his own. Then Tim would remember how his last several relationships had gone, and the idea would quickly flee. He’d settle for being happy for his friends.

,,,

It was only a few hours after Martin had taken off that there was a knock on the front door. Tim wasn’t expecting anyone, but he definitely wasn’t expecting to open the door and find Martin standing there looking more dejected than should be humanly possible. “What happened?”

Martin took a few steps into the flat, and then squeezed his eyes shut. “You know how Gertrude Robinson went missing?” Tim nodded. It was big news when the Head Archivist had vanished, with nothing but some blood in her office as an indication of what might have happened. But Tim had no idea why Martin had asked, so he just waited quietly for Martin to keep going. “Well, apparently today the police officially declared her dead, and Mr. Bouchard decided to give the job to Jon.”

Tim’s eyes widened. That seemed like a hell of a promotion. It also seemed way too fast, for her to have just been officially dead and a new person given her job on the same day. But even so, a promotion seemed like a good thing, so he still didn’t understand why Martin was so upset. “So… congratulations to him?” When Martin didn’t answer, Tim felt the worry bubble up inside of him. “What’s wrong, Martin? What else happened?”

Martin wrapped his arms around his stomach like he was trying to hug himself. “Jon broke up with me,” he practically whispered.

If it wasn’t for how terrible Martin looked, Tim would think he was joking. The two of them were so perfect together, at least as far as he could tell. And they were both good friends of his, so Tim would like to think that he’d have noticed if they were having serious issues. But Jon had never made even the slightest indication that he was planning on dumping Martin. Why would he have asked Sasha for help planning the anniversary? “What- Did he say why?”

“I like Keats and he doesn’t.”

Tim frowned. “Is that like a metaphor or something?”

Martin just shook his head, and didn’t say anything else for the rest of the night.

,,,

Tim had been friends with Jon for a while before Martin had been hired at the Institute, and he knew that even though Jon could be a bit of a prick sometimes, he really cared about the people that earned his loyalty, and he was never needlessly cruel. 

So Tim was willing to hear Jon’s side of things. It’s not as though Tim wanted Jon to stay in a relationship that he was unhappy with, but it had been a jerk move to spring the break up on Martin so suddenly, and Tim knew that Jon had to have a good reason for that.

He managed to corner Jon in the breakroom, with a few glares at anyone else who tried to come in until they turned around and left. “Jon? How are you doing? I know it can’t be easy to end a relationship that’s lasted for this long. It’s just… Martin is really upset, and I think that maybe you didn’t give him a proper explanation, because he thinks that you broke up with him over poetry, which is just-”

“I gave him all the explanation that’s needed,” Jon said, his voice colder than Tim had ever heard it before. “I can’t date someone who likes Keats.”

Tim balled his hands into fists. “Seriously? I know it isn’t my place to pry into your personal relationship, but as someone who is friends with both of you-”

Jon held up one hand to cut Tim off, and he spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice considering how he’d sounded just a few seconds ago. “I appreciate your concern, really I do, but this is a private matter between Martin and me. If you feel that you need to ‘take sides’, then I encourage you to support Martin at this time.”

Tim gave Jon a long, studious look. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, but he was pretty sure that he wasn’t able to find it. “Don’t be an idiot,” he finally muttered. “I’m still your friend. I just wish you would talk to me.” He hesitated for a moment, and then let out a heavy sigh. “Have fun down in the basement.”

“Didn’t Elias tell you? Apparently the previous three archival assistants all quit since they were so devastated by Gertrude’s death. So I recommended you and Sasha, and… and Elias said that since Martin works so well with you two that he should be moved down there as well.”

Tim frowned. “No, nobody told me that I’d be moving anywhere.” He was just lucky that he wasn’t asthmatic, because the archives gave off the vibe of a place that hadn’t been cleaned since it was first built. Then he thought of a more pressing issue. “Are you and Martin going to be able to work together? I mean, this means you’re technically going to be his boss, and with everything…” He trailed off, but he knew that even someone as dense as Jon could understand what Tim was getting at.

Strangely enough, he was not at all reassured by the nonchalant smile Jon gave him. Maybe because it was so easy to see the strain behind it. “We’ll be fine,” he assured Tim. His voice was almost scary because of how cheerful it sounded. Even when he was at his happiest, Jon wasn’t supposed to sound like that. But it was clear that Jon was done with the conversation, and Tim knew better to think that he’d get anything out of pushing the matter. He’d just have to trust Jon on this. Maybe everything would be fine.

,,,

Everything was not fine. They’d been in the archives for less than a month, but Tim was already sure that this was going to drive him insane. Jon constantly complained about how unorganized Gertrude had left the place, but he refused to let anyone help him tidy up. He assigned cases to Sasha and Tim that were already so old that there was almost no chance of finding out anything useful, and he basically ignored Martin. Martin, on the other hand, tried to act as though everything was perfectly normal, like he wasn’t working with the man he’d dated and been in love with for the past two years. 

When the day that would have been their two year anniversary came around, Tim and Sasha both steeled themselves for the disastrous fallout that was sure to take place, but nothing happened. Martin was so cordial with Jon that it bordered on ridiculous, while Jon just continued on as if he wasn’t aware of what day it was.

After the one month mark in the archives, Tim couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed Sasha after work and tugged her to the pub so that he could vent about the insanity that was their lives. “This is the worst thing ever! They won’t even talk to each other to get closure or whatever, they’re just so- so- ugh!”

Sasha nodded. “I know. But Tim, it still isn’t our place to interfere. We have to let them work through this on their own.”

Personally, Tim didn’t think that that would be effective at all, but he was afraid of making things worse, so he decided to just stay out of it. If Jon and Martin were going to insist on being stubborn and weird about all of this, then who was Tim to try and make them happy again?

,,,

Somehow it took several months before Tim got just the slightest glimpse that let him know that there was more going on than he’d previously thought. And he wasn’t talking about the fact that Martin had been held hostage in his own home for three days by some worms, though that was obviously strange enough.

But the way Jon had strolled out to the bullpen on that third day and declared that something was terribly wrong with Martin, because he was sending Jon the occasional casually worded text, which he hadn’t done even once since they’d broken up.

Tim thought that maybe Martin was just delirious with fever and doing the ill equivalent of drunkenly texting his ex, but Jon sounded so sure that he was right, so Tim and Sasha had grabbed their jackets and headed to Martin’s flat. When they’d gotten there, everything had happened all in a rush, where Jon tackled a woman to the ground before Tim could even blink, and there were gross little worms all over the floor, and then Jon had shouted to Martin that it was safe to get out if he made a run for it, and then all four of them had dashed out of the building.

Martin had looked pretty bad as they returned to the Institute, and Jon had almost immediately offered up the cot that he kept in document storage for when he pulled all-nighters. He’d been gentle and careful, and had told Martin that he didn’t need to talk about his experience until he was ready, and that he could stay in the Institute for as long as he needed. And once Martin had washed up and decided to get some rest, Tim had seen just how worried Jon was. Clearly he still cared about Martin, far more than he wanted anyone to know, because as soon as he realized Tim was looking, his resting bitch face had returned. It was bizarre, to say the least, but there was so much else going on that Tim didn’t really have the time to ask about it. He didn’t forget about it, though, even if the information was pushed slightly to the back of his mind.

,,,

Tim was determined to not get beaten by a few measly worms, and when he found the wall that he was pretty sure connected to Jon’s office, he hoped for the best as he started swinging. Either he was right, and he’d find Jon and Martin inside, or he was wrong, and was about to be drowned in a shower of worms. Either way, it was better than just waiting around and hoping for someone else to do something.

When he finally broke through, he burst through the wall in all his triumphant glory (and also maybe a little CO2 poisoning, but whatever). Jon was standing in front of Martin despite being half Martin’s size and looking like he could barely stand, and if the situation wasn’t so urgent, Tim probably would’ve stopped to analyze what that actually meant.

When Martin offered up his personal tape recorder to Jon, the judgement in Jon’s voice was very clear, but from where Tim was standing, he could also see the stars in Jon’s eyes as he reverently accepted the recorder. Now wasn’t the time, but at some point, if they survived this mess, someone would have to start a conversation between those two idiots.

,,,

There was a wild look in Jon’s eyes as he insisted that he needed to get a statement from everyone. Maybe on a different day Tim would be willing to play along, but right now he was exhausted and in pain, and he couldn’t stop thinking about that moment where, for just a second, Tim could have sworn that Elias had looked at Jon with something like hunger in his eyes. 

Jon didn’t seem to care that everyone was traumatized and just wanted to go home, though, and Tim knew that he wasn’t the one who’d be able to convince him. So Tim dragged Martin aside, even though he knew that Martin wanted to stay with Jon and keep babbling out apologies for letting them get separated. “We all need some goddamn rest. Including Jon. If you’re the one to tell him to go home, he’ll listen to you.”

Martin started shaking his head before Tim had even finished talking. “Jon hates me.” 

Tim sighed, and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment. “You two are both hopeless.” He dropped his arm and gave Martin an earnest look. “Whatever happened between you two, I don’t think the problem was ever a lack of love. Surely you’ve seen how worried he’s been about you ever since your first encounter with Prentiss?”

Martin shrugged. “He’d do the same for anyone else.”

That got a snort out of Tim before he could stop himself. “Are we talking about the same Jon Sims here? He’s a complete arse to everybody. Just-”

“He won’t listen to me,” Martin insisted. Then he turned and hurried away before Tim could try to convince him otherwise.

Well, it wasn’t like Elias had any chance at getting Jon to go home, and for some reason Jon had been acting really strangely around Sasha since they’d all emerged from the Institute, which meant that it was up to Tim to try and wrestle that stubborn Archivist into a cab.

Tim let out a long sigh, and then shuffled over to where Jon was still standing, watching the vehicle with Prentiss’ body in it drive off. Maybe if Tim wasn’t so worried about everyone else, he’d be freaking out too. As it was, though, he was a man on a mission. 

Tim cleared his throat, but when that didn’t get Jon’s attention, he reluctantly reached out to touch Jon’s arm, knowing that it would startle the man. Like he’d expected, Jon jumped back, and only seemed to relax a little bit when he saw that it was Tim.

Maybe it was just because Tim hadn’t gotten the chance to look in a mirror yet to see his own bandages, but he couldn’t help thinking that Jon looked absolutely terrible. A lot of different things ran through Tim’s mind as he tried to think of what to say, but what ended up coming out was, “You look like shit.”

Jon frowned. “Why do you always feel the need to say that?”

“What do you mean, ‘always’? I never-”

Jon waved his hand to cut Tim off. “It’s the very first thing you ever said to me.”

It took a moment for Tim to process that. They had met nearly five years ago at this point, and Jon still remembered Tim’s first words to him? Then again, they were pretty memorable, as far as first words went. “I didn’t think you even heard me back then.”

Jon shrugged one shoulder. “There didn’t seem to be much to say in response to that. I’d have told you it was rude, but I’m sure you already knew that. Anyways, I think I have a valid excuse for looking like shit today, all things considered.”

“I still think you should go home for now.” When Jon opened his mouth to protest, Tim hurried to continue talking, not wanting to give Jon a chance to argue with him. “I need to go home and rest, but I… I don’t want to be alone right now. I love Sasha and Martin, but they don’t really…” he waved his hands, not wanting to say the words now that he’d started in a more serious direction.

“They don’t really understand,” Jon filled in quietly. “Do you really think that being around _me_ is going to make you feel more safe?”

Tim just shrugged. “Well it certainly can’t hurt.”

There was a long moment of silence, and Tim silently pleaded for Jon to just give in so that he wouldn’t have to resort to knocking Jon out and slinging him over his shoulder. Finally, Jon nodded, and his entire body seemed to collapse as the tension started to bleed out of him. “Fine, let’s go. But we’re going to my flat. Your place is rubbish.”

It was reminiscent of the very first time they’d really hung out together, as they curled up in Jon’s bed, both of them changed into clean pajamas. Only instead of passing out from drinking too much alcohol, they fell asleep holding each other close and silently crying on each other’s shoulders.

,,,

“Alright, this is getting ridiculous!” Tim slammed his hand down on top of Jon’s desk, as if the man hadn’t already heard Tim stomp into the office. “You and Martin were acting so lovey-dovey while we all thought we were going to die, but now you’re right back to ignoring your feelings and acting like you barely like him. What the hell is up with that? It’s so obvious that you’re still madly in love with Martin, so what reason could you possibly have for still being so goddamn stubborn about this?”

Jon sighed as he set down his pen and then leaned back in his seat. “I thought we already agreed that my relationship with Martin is none of your business.”

Tim shook his head. “No, I definitely don’t remember ever agreeing to that. Maybe you agreed to that, but I didn’t. I am in full support of what will make you two idiots happiest, and I thought at first that if you weren’t happy together, then obviously you shouldn’t be together, but watching the two of you interact, it seems pretty clear to me that you miss being with him, so what the hell is the hold up?”

“We can’t be together,” Jon insisted. “We just can’t. And I don’t owe you any explanation.”

“Maybe not, but you do owe him one. And Jon, if this is some kind of idiotic thing where you think that what you’re doing is best for Martin because you don’t think he should date an ace guy, or whatever, then I’ll tell you right now that that kind of thing should be his choice.”

Jon shook his head. “It’s not about that. I know Martin wouldn’t… Well, it’s just not about that. We just aren’t compatible, that’s all.”

He had that stubborn look on his face that always meant he was going to refuse to budge on the current issue, but his teeth were also clenched tightly and his eyes warned Tim to just shut up. It made Tim want to stomp around the desk and give Jon a smack, or maybe a hug. “Just- just figure out your shit, Jon, because Martin isn’t going to wait around for you forever.”

“I don’t want you to,” Jon said in a soft voice. Even if Tim didn’t know Jon as well as he did, he was pretty sure that he’d still be able to detect the blatant lie in that statement. “I want Martin to be happy, but it can’t be with me.” 

Tim just sighed, and accepted a temporary defeat. He wasn’t the kind of person to just give up, and if Jon thought that he’d said enough to make Tim back off, then clearly he didn’t know Tim all that well.

,,,

Jon was in a meeting with Elias, but Tim had found another one of the unrecordable statements, and he knew that Jon always liked to hear about those right away. So he figured that Jon wouldn’t mind if Tim interrupted the meeting. Not to mention that Jon never seemed to look particularly thrilled by the idea of being in an enclosed space with Elias for longer than a few seconds.

Content with the idea that he could play hero here, Tim took the elevator up and then made his way down the hall to Elias’ office. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but then realized that he could hear the voices from inside pretty clearly, thanks to the door not being shut all the way.

The right thing to do would be to knock anyways, and announce his presence so that he could pull Jon out of the meeting and off to freedom. But Tim couldn’t help feeling curious, and he dropped his hand. He told himself that he would only listen for a few seconds, and then he would rescue Jon from the meeting.

“You and Martin seem to be getting closer again.” There was something threatening in Elias’ voice, and Tim clenched his hands into fists.

Jon responded immediately, sounding defensive. “You’re wrong. There’s nothing between us.”

Elias laughed, like it was some kind of inside joke. “Don’t worry, I believe you.” Tim furrowed his eyebrows at that. It didn’t sound like any kind of teasing he’d heard before. The way Elias spoke made it sound as though his belief of the situation was actually important. “Anyways, we should probably get back to your employee evaluation. Now I noticed that-”

Tim knocked loudly on the door, pushing it slightly open. “Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I’ve got some important news to talk to Jon about.”

The way that Elias stared at Tim made it feel like he could see right through him, but Tim refused to flinch away. Not when he saw just how relieved Jon was to have Tim show up. Jon quickly hopped up to his feet. “Sorry, Elias, guess we’ll have to do this some other time.” Then he rushed out of the office, grabbing Tim’s wrist along the way so that he could tug him out as well.

They didn’t stop walking until they reached the elevator, and then Jon slumped back against the wall. He reached up to run a hand through his hair, and Tim just studied his friend for a moment. “What was that all about? Why would Elias care whether you’re close with Martin or not?”

Jon’s head jerked up to look at Tim. “You- of course you heard that.” He let out a heavy sigh, but didn’t actually answer Tim’s question. 

When it seemed clear that Jon didn’t have any intention of answering, Tim had to resist the urge to just roll his eyes. “Look, I know that you probably aren’t aware of this, due to you being an oblivious idiot, but I actually really care about you, and I can’t help but feel concerned when Elias acts like such a massive creep toward you. Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

He waited patiently for Jon to meet his gaze, and it struck Tim for the first time just how tired Jon looked. Between all his worrying over what had happened to Gertrude Robinson, dealing with the trauma of the worms, and whatever was going on with Elias, Jon was clearly stretched too thin. For a moment, Tim felt like a shit friend for not noticing sooner, but then he reminded himself that Jon was the one who seemed so intent on keeping everyone else away from him. 

Jon let out a soft sigh. “There’s nothing going on,” he muttered. “Just leave me be.”

Tim snorted. “As if. Who else am I going to bother?”

That got a small smile out of Jon, which felt like a pretty big victory. He shook his head once, and then stepped out of the elevator as the doors opened. “You’re an idiot,” he informed Tim in that overly prim voice that always made people think he was faking his accent. “But… you’re a good friend.” Then he hurried to his office, apparently having used up his quota of emotional interactions for the day.

Tim let Jon escape, because he knew that pushing him now wouldn’t work. But he was still determined to get to the bottom of this, whatever ‘this’ was.

,,,

“What do you mean, we can’t quit?”

Martin just shrugged, and looked slightly to the left so that he didn’t have to look Tim in the eyes. “There’s just something about this place. I don’t think we can leave.”

Tim frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you saying that because you…?” He trailed off, but Martin seemed to understand the unspoken question.

He gave another small shrug. “I just- I just don’t know how I’m supposed to keep working here and acting like everything’s alright. Even with that jar of ashes on Jon’s desk, I still jump everytime I hear a small noise behind me, expecting to see Prentiss. Elias has been so much weirder than normal. Sasha has stopped going to lunch with us. And Jon- well.” He twisted his hands together in front of him, and then finally looked directly at Tim. “You’d think it sounds like I have plenty of reason to leave, right? But I can’t.”

Tim just stared at Martin, until he could think of an appropriate reaction to this revelation. “Well shit.”

,,,

Jon stared at Martin and Tim impatiently, clearly waiting for them to clear out of his office. But neither of them budged, and Tim gave Jon an unimpressed look. “If you’re the one who’s sick, then you can go home. Otherwise, just tell us what the hell’s going on. What stupid plan have you cooked up that you don’t trust us with?”

The question put a pained look on Jon’s face. “It’s not that I don’t trust you- either of you- it’s just that you’ll be safer-”

Martin was the one who cut him off. “In case you hadn’t noticed, none of us are particularly safe right now, with everything that’s going on.” His voice was harder than usual, but Tim could see the way his eyes begged Jon to just let them in.

While Martin distracted Jon for a moment, Tim looked around the office, and then his eyes landed on a new addition. “And what’s with the axe?” It was leaning up against the wall, innocuous enough, but considering the fact that Jon definitely hadn’t been keeping an axe in here before, it felt like a reasonable thing to ask about.

Jon sighed, and then reached up to run a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then closed it again. Instead, he just rummaged through his desk and pulled out two tape recorders. He stuck a tape into each of them, and then played one. He fast forwarded to a part where Sasha had interrupted his statement, then clicked it off and played the other tape. It was a stranger’s voice, but it seemed oddly familiar to Tim. He listened as she described last year’s events as if she’d been there, and then as she sounded afraid and something about that stupid table, and then she screamed, and then Sasha spoke, but suddenly Tim wasn’t so sure that it was really Sasha. He looked at Jon, silently begging for answers, and for once, Jon actually explained everything.

When he was done, Tim had to sit down. One of his best friends was dead, and had been for a while now, and he’d been joking and laughing and going to the pub with her murderer. It was all too much, and yet he believed it immediately. “So the axe…?” His voice came out weaker than he wanted it to, but at least he could speak. Martin hadn’t moved at all, and looked frozen from shock.

Jon glanced back at the weapon in question before answering Tim. “I’m going to destroy the table.”

A few seconds passed in silence, and then, “Why?” Martin’s voice was quiet, but surprisingly strong, all things considered.

Jon blinked a few times in confusion. “Why?” he repeated. “Did you not just hear everything I said? Not Sasha needs to be stopped, and she’s clearly connected to that table, and-”

Martin shook his head. “No, yeah, I get that, but… What if you’re wrong?” He nodded towards the small pile of tapes on the desk that had built up as Jon played them the statements relevant to this Not creature. “Maybe I’m just not understanding correctly, but it sounds to me like Adelard Dekker brought the table into the situation, and the table wrapped the Not Them in webs, and we don’t have any more recent statements about it, and Not Sasha hasn’t actually killed anyone as far as we know, so…” He trailed off, but Tim wanted to let him finish explaining, because Martin was so much smarter than a lot of people gave him credit for. Martin sighed, and reached up to scratch at the back of his neck. “It sounds like the table is some kind of binding agent, doesn’t it? The Not Them doesn’t sound like it would be involved with webs and spiders, it seems like a different kind of thing, doesn it?”

Jon just stared at Martin for a moment, and then leaned back in his own seat. “Christ, why didn’t I-?”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Tim said, voice regaining some of its usual humor. “You’re under a lot of stress right now. But we do need to come up with a different plan, or at the very least, do some more research.” Tim stopped for a moment, and then felt the need to add, “Thank you for being honest with us, Jon.” It was always best to reward good behavior to encourage it.

As if Jon was just trying to prove Tim right, his cheeks got a little darker, and he ducked his head down to look at his lap. “There’s uh… there’s something else that I should probably tell you.” He rubbed at the scar on his palm from where he’d been stabbed by Michael a few months back (he’d initially tried to say he accidentally stabbed himself with a bread knife, but Tim had called bullshit, and Jon had reluctantly shared the truth). “It’s about the tunnels under the Institute.”

,,,

By the time everyone went home that night, Tim’s mind was still reeling with everything that he’d learned. It all seemed like too much, and yet he was glad to know all of it, because it meant that Jon did trust them, even after finding out that one good friend was a fake all along. Now hopefully they’d be able to come up with a solution, to show that Jon had been right to put his faith in Tim and Martin.

,,,

Tim kept muttering about how this seemed like such a stupid plan, but he kept moving his feet forward anyways. It’s not like he’d just let Martin and Jon wander around in the tunnels alone. Safety in numbers, or something like that. 

Jon had insisted that they investigate down here. “Do you really feel comfortable knowing that there’s an unknown person living down here? The last unknown thing to make a home in the tunnels was an army of worms,” Jon had argued. And, well, that had been enough to convince Tim, and he could still feel the stretch of his scars when he’d frowned at Jon and given his agreement.

Now they were wandering around, trying to follow a mess of chalk marks that half the time Jon insisted he hadn’t left there. Tim was carrying Jon’s axe, just in case, while Martin had a torch in his hand and a backpack full of spare supplies and Jon had a tape recorder in one hand and a stick of chalk in the other.

After a couple hours with nothing to show for it, Tim took a deep breath and then slowly let it out. Apparently he’d have to be the voice of reason here, and how sad was that? “Jon, I really think we should-”

Before he could finish his sentence, a wall moved right in front of them, and revealed a haggard looking old man. He sighed at the three younger men as he tucked a small book into his jacket pocket. “I suppose it’s time that we need to talk.”

,,,

Tim didn’t want to leave Jon alone with a random old dude that they literally knew nothing about, but the man had insisted that he’d only talk to the Head Archivist, and had warned Tim and Martin that they’d better not wait by the office door to listen in on the conversation.

Tim had politely agreed, and then he and Martin had returned to the tunnels through the cheaply patched hole from the worm invasion, which they didn’t even need the axe to break through because their hands were enough (which was a good thing, since Tim had left the axe in the office, in case Jon needed to defend himself against the creepy tunnel man). They made their way back to the entrance in Jon’s office, and then pushed the hatch door open just the slightest bit so that they could listen in.

It was a lot of heavy stuff to learn all at once, and Jon understandably needed a moment to himself. When he excused himself to take a smoke break, Martin gave Tim a quick look before hurrying off himself. They both knew that Jon only smoked when he was at his most stressed, and Tim was glad that Martin wanted to be there to support Jon.

So Tim waited for Jon to return so that the conversation between him and Leitner could continue, but he was surprised that the office door opened again so soon. Even a chainsmoker surely couldn’t be done that quickly, right? He wished that he’d been wrong, though, as he heard Elias and Leitner talk about some cryptic bullshit, something about Gertrude, then something about Jon, then-

Tim had to reach up to clasp a hand over his mouth to stop himself from letting out any noise. The hatch wasn’t opened wide enough to see anything, but he could hear it as Elias picked up the axe from where Tim had left it leaning up against the desk, and brought it down on Leitner. Tim would have just shut the hatch and run away if he wasn’t afraid that it might make a noise. 

It seemed to go on forever, as Elias hacked away at Leitner, even long after the man must have been dead, and then he said nothing as he dropped the axe and left. Tim could hear the sound of dripping, and he finally stepped away from the hatch so that he could vomit. He heaved for what felt like ages, but he knew he had to stay strong, because Martin and Jon would be coming back soon, and they’d want to know what the hell had happened. 

,,,

The three of them were huddled together in Jon’s flat, and they all stared blankly at the three untouched cups of cold tea on the table. When the police had asked their questions earlier, Tim, Jon, and Martin had all stuck strongly to the story of being each other’s alibis. But they didn’t accuse Elias of the murder, because without evidence, he wouldn’t necessarily be done in for it, and trying to work for him if he knew that they knew would be too difficult.

All of them had tried drafting letters of resignation, but none of them had been able to go through with it. That had been a few hours ago, and ever since then they’d just been sitting around in silence. At first, the television had been on to show them the news, but when that had grown to be too much, they’d turned it off.

When Jon cleared his throat, the sudden noise seemed as loud as a gunshot, but Tim managed not to violently startle. He and Martin both looked at Jon curiously. “I feel like such an idiot,” he started in a low voice. “I mean, I didn’t know that he was capable of- of- _murder_ , but I knew that Elias was a bad person.”

“Because he was always such a creep?”

Jon shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t matter now, since it turns out that we’ve got supernatural job security, so I may as well tell you.” He let out a bitter laugh, and then pressed the back of his arm against his eyes as he spoke. “When Elias first approached me to give me the position of Head Archivist, he also… He told me that if I didn’t break up with Martin right away, he would have Martin fired, and maybe even arrested, for lying on his resume.”

Tim’s eyes widened at the revelation, and then he gave Martin a careful look to see how he was taking it. Martin looked shocked, and angry, and hurt, and relieved, and upset, and a million other things. Without saying a word, Tim got up and retreated to Jon’s bedroom, closing the door behind him. This was a conversation that Jon and Martin needed to have by themselves.

,,,

It took ages before Tim got a text from Martin telling him that it was safe to emerge, so he did. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d been expecting from the two of them, but he thought that this seemed about right anyways. They weren’t pressed up against each other the way they always had sat in private settings when they were dating, and in fact there was still an entire cushion open between them. But they’d both reached out, and they had their hands flat on the couch, just barely touching their pinkies together. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.

As Tim reclaimed his own seat, he looked at them curiously. “Am I allowed to ask?”  
Jon nodded reluctantly, and since Tim was pretty sure this window of opportunity would be closed in the future, he decided to take advantage of it now. “Why didn’t you just talk to us about it from the start?”

“Because Elias said that if I told anyone, it would be the same consequences for Martin, and that he’d figure out consequences for anyone else I told, too. It wasn’t just about losing a job, Tim, it was about him ruining your lives.”

Tim still thought Jon should have told him, but he decided to accept Jon’s actions and forgive them. “Why make it about Keats?”

Jon sighed. “Because it was two weeks before our anniversary and it was obvious that we were happy, so I couldn’t just say that I’d suddenly lost interest. I thought it would be easiest if I just said I had cheated, but obviously that wouldn’t be a believable excuse. Now do you have any other questions, or can we focus on the fact that we still have to work with Elias and Not Sasha, and deal with everything Leitner said?”  
Tim sighed. “I think that was it.” He started to lean back, but then bolted upright. “Wait, wait, just one more!” He gave Martin and Jon a careful look, trying to take in every detail and assess all of it. “Are you two… are you okay?”

They turned to share a brief glance, and then looked back at Tim. Martin cleared his throat. “We’re going to be,” he said with more certainty than Tim felt. “We’re all going to be okay.” And maybe there was still a lot of crap that they needed to deal with, but for now, Tim knew that Martin was right. Eventually, somehow, they were all going to be okay. 


End file.
